Cecil’s POV:

“P...pl… sto…” Chrysalis choked, struggling feebly against my grip.

“Why?” I questioned. “You killed my friend. It’s only fair…”

Chrysalis moved her hand slowly and pointed outside the cell. I looked and saw Fluttershy and the others being held by several changelings. There was a noise, which I realized was Chrysalis snapping her fingers. The changelings and my friends were teleported out of the room.

“If they die… I won’t stop at you…” I growled.

“You kill… me… they all die…” Chrysalis said, giving a choked laugh.

I smirked, “You’ve forgotten something…” I said.

“Oh… You mean… him?” Chrysalis said, motioning towards Red’s body. I looked up to see it was gone.

“And you think that will stop Sam from finding out?” I snapped.

“I can sure try…” Chrysalis laughed.

“And what do you think will happen when he does find out?” I questioned.

“He won’t… And he sure won’t believe… anything you have to say… anymore.” Chrysalis smirked.

“Why is th-” I said before I was thrown against the wall. I grunted as I collided with it, turning to see Sam standing over Chrysalis.

“What the hell are you doing?” Sam asked angrily.

“Avenging Red.” I stated.

“What are you talking about?” Sam questioned.

“Why don’t you ask Chrysalis? It’s not like she would ever lie to you…” I said.

“I don’t have to. I can just ask him myself.” Sam said.

“What are you…” I said uncertainly.

“Why did you run off Sam?” Red asked, walking into the room and looking around curiously. “Is this a prison? You’re not going to lock me up are you...”

I just stared at Red.

“Oh hey Cecil. Sorry I didn’t come back up… I kind of got distracted.” Red smiled. “Glad you found your own way down here.”

My lip twitched.

“He hates me… He tried to kill me… They all hate me…” Chrysalis said, beginning to sob.

Sam lifted her up and glared angrily at me. “You need to leave.” He stated.

“Sam I… Just let me explain…” I said quickly.

“LEAVE!” Sam shouted, the room itself seeming to shake with his voice. There was a blinding flash that forced my eyes shut. Everything seemed to calm, and I could feel a breeze hitting my body. I opened my eyes and I was standing outside, in the park.

“Cecil!” Fluttershy said, rushing over and hugging me tightly.

I hugged her back. “She played all of us…” I said.

“What happened down there?” Applejack asked.

“It doesn’t matter any more… we failed. Sam isn’t coming back…” I said. “Not now… not ever.”

“The hell did you do to piss him off? I’ve never seen him that mad.” Red said, appearing behind me.

“Red!” Dash screamed, rushing over and nearly tackling him to the ground as a new wave of tears moved to cover the dried ones on her face.

“Whoa easy… I couldn’t have been gone THAT long…” Red said uncertainly.

“Chrysalis made sure Sam won’t trust us again… she set us up… She was one step ahead of us...” I said.

“Oh… that’s um… bad right?” Red asked.

I remained silent.

“What do we do now?” Rarity asked.

“Who cares…” Dash said, pressing her face into Red’s chest.

“Come on I’m right here…” Red said quietly, patting her on the back.

“There isn’t anything we can do anymore… it’s not like he’d belie…” I stopped.

“What is it?” Pinkie asked, tilting her head.

“We have one last chance. But not here.” I said.

“We can talk at our house.” Dash shrugged.

“Yeah that sounds good. I’ve been walking all day…” Red groaned.

“Then let’s go.” I said.

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Red’s House:

“So what’s your plan?” Red asked, sighing in relief as he fell onto the couch.

“There is one person he would trust…” I started.

“Ohhh!” Red said, realizing exactly who he was talking about.

“We’ll need to tell her everything that’s happened. And we can’t wait around too long to do so.” I said.

“Even if we tell Twilight… then what? It’s not like Sam will just let us stroll back into the hive, especially after an assassination attempt.” Dash said.

“Well… I see two options… one is slightly less dangerous for the person involved then the other.” I said.

“I have a feeling one of them involves me…” Red sighed.

“Well now three.” I said.

“Huh?” Red mumbled.

“Someone needs to go in… it’s just we need someone who wouldn’t be teleported out the second they were caught. And someone who wouldn’t try anything too risky.” I said.

“Wow you’re just handing out my biography aren’t you.” Red sighed.

“If you don’t want to I do have someone in mind for a back up…” I said.

“I don’t care how good of an idea it is, I’m not going to send a kid in there. I’ll do it.” Red said.

“Okay… now we need to tell Twilight.” I said.

“Yeah sure. Not like I have anything better to do.” Dash shrugged.

“Let’s go.” Fluttershy nodded.

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Sam’s POV: The Hive.

“I’m here don’t worry… no one’s going to hurt you.” I said softly, holding Chrysalis tightly against myself.

“I’m so lucky to have you…” She smiled, nuzzling her head against my chest.

“At least Red wasn’t involved…” I sighed, my head falling back against the wall.

Chrysalis stared up at me intently.

“He… wasn’t…. right?” I asked hesitantly.

“How did he get down here Sam.” Chrysalis said bluntly.

“I… I don’t…” I stammered.

“They had to send someone in to scout out the place. Someone to distract you.” She said, running a hand across my cheek. “I’m so sorry…”

“Why… why would they do this…” I said quietly, a few tears running down my face.

“Because they’re all the same… they want us gone because we’re different.” Chrysalis said.

“But… they were so nice to me…” I mumbled.

“To get to me. You know what would happen if I died… If you hadn’t come back to the hive, my death wouldn’t have even been known… It would have fallen apart. But you’re here now… you have a family now…” She said, hugging me tightly. A small smile was brought to my face as I returned the hug.

“So long as you’re safe… I’m happy.” I said.

“Sam… What are you… doing…” Chrysalis said uncertainly.

I raised an eyebrow and looked down. There was a glow on my chest, slowly spreading across me. My eyes widened as a white flash blinded me.

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Red’s POV: On the Road.

I gave another glance at everyone else as we walked to Twilight’s before my mind was taken by other thoughts. I glanced around at the town shrouded by the night that rolls through on a daily basis. I sighed and looked back to the others, talking about the plans, and what they’d do after Twilight was informed. I looked at Dash, staring at her for a few moments before looking up at the sky. There’s never a dull moment around here… I wish we could just relax for awhile. One day I’m waking up to see a complete stranger fall out of the sky.

The next day I’m by her bedside, drawn to her for whatever reason. I’m glad I stayed, and I’m really glad she turned out to be alive. Then it leads into a life threatening surgery, a run through a deadly forest to get a potion, and running back only to get… well… I’ll leave the past in the past. I’m just glad Twilight could get back in time. I’d die for Rainbow Dash… and I almost did. And… I know… Sam would…

I stopped in my tracks and stared at the ground. “Fuck…” I mumbled.

“What’s wrong?” Cecil asked.

“Nothing… It’s nothing.” I shook my head. “Let’s just keep going.”

“You sure?” Dash asked.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about it…” I said, kissing her on the cheek. It wouldn’t come to that… We wouldn’t do something that drastic. I’m just getting ahead of myself. My eyes drifted back up to the sky, counting the stars and circling around the many constellations. My attention was drawn to a certain pattern of stars I had never noticed before. One of them was glowing brightly. “What the…” I mumbled.

“Red?” Cecil asked.

My head snapped back to earth, staring at Cecil. “Huh?” I said quickly.

“You okay there?” He asked.

I looked back up and saw the stars that had caught my eye were gone. “Yeah… I’m fine.” I said hesitantly.

“Well let’s keep going silly!” Pinkie said.

We continued to walk until we hit Twilight’s house. Cecil was the first to knock while the rest of us waited. There was no response.

“Do… you think she’s okay?” Fluttershy asked nervously.

“I don’t know… but we need to find out.” Cecil said. He tried the handle and found the door was locked.

“Well… It is the middle of the night. She could just be sleeping.” Rarity suggested.

“Well we have to tell her. So I guess I’ll just teleport in?” I asked curiously.

“Yeah I guess s-” Cecil was cut off as the door opened. We all looked at the doorway and saw Pinkie standing there.

“Wh…” Dash mumbled.

“Don’t… question… just believe…” Cecil said.

Pinkie was looking at us with an almost shaky expression. We could all see a sense of dread in her eyes.

“Pinkie? What’s wrong?” I asked.

She took a few steps back and pointed inside. The others walked in first. As soon as everyone was inside I heard Fluttershy let out a sharp scream. I quickly rushed in and froze at what I saw. I hadn’t noticed it earlier but… On the floor was the same constellation of stars from earlier, but singed into the ground. It was at that moment that I realized, it was Twilight’s cutie mark.